Sometimes, choosing the right ink for your printer can be a difficult task. However, if you follow proper guidelines, it may not. Apart from choosing an exact match of ink for the printer, you should also know your monthly print volume. So, in this post, we shall include 7 useful tips on how to know what ink your printer uses. Following this guide may also help you save a good amount of money.
Contents
1. Laser Printers use Toner
Laser printers are commonly used in offices, and other commercial uses, thanks to their speed and cost-effectiveness. However, nowadays we can see that they are making their place in homes as well. The reason behind it might be the economy of these printers.
If we talk about the advantages of laser printers, we can see two of them. First, the higher speed, and second, is the economical usage. This is true especially when your print a large number of pages. For example, on average you can print black and white pages at a speed that is double as compared to the inkjet printers. on the other hand, you will save your money up to 50%.
If you are using a laser printer, then you will need to buy toner for it. Toner is a fine powder that is fused by a drum unit onto the page using heat. Because laser printers use dry toner, hence it gives cleaner results. However, if you want to print photos, then it will not be a good option for you. Laser printers are good as far as printing graphs and medium-quality photos only.
2. Dye-based ink for Inkjet Printers
Most inkjet printers use dye-based inks. You can tell by looking at the size of a printer whether it is an inkjet printer or a laser printer. Because the inkjet printers are considerably smaller than the laser printers.
Most standard inkjet printers consume dye-based ink because it is a cheaper option. If you want super sharp texts and vibrant images, then go for the dye-based inks.
3. Pigmented ink for Inkjet Printers
Some of the inkjet printers use pigmented inks as well. Pigmented ink sets often come with a wider range of colors than normal dye-based ink. Hence, they offer more versatility in printing photos.
If you are a professional photographer, then a pigmented ink-based printer is the best for you. It will help you improve the depth, sharpness, and tone by using different ink and paper combos.
4. Importance of Cartridge Number
Some of the printers may have up to 6 cartridges, while the other may have just one. For example, if you have an ‘HP OfficeJet Pro 6230‘ series printer, its cartridges are labeled as HP 934 for Black and HP 935 for Cyan, Magenta, or Yellow.
- You may see the cartridge number/name on the old ink cartridge. Also, see the manual. Usually, the cartridge number and type are mentioned in the cartridge replacement or the device maintenance section.
- You can also find the cartridge number/name on a label directly printed on it. However, some of the printer manufacturers also put a small card having the cartridge number in each of the small boxes of ink cartridges.
It doesn’t matter that you buy ink cartridges from a local vendor or purchase them online. It’s always very important that you know your ink cartridge number if you wish to buy the best ink for your printer.
Read Also: What Is The Best Printer With The Cheapest Ink Cartridges?
5. Find the Right Ink by Make and Model
Although you can find the cartridge number from an old cartridge or the user manual. But what if you have lost both?
Well, there is always an option B. You can know the right ink cartridge by entering the Make and Model of your printer into the online stores. Follow the instructions to do so.
Make: “Make” means the company of your printer. See the company name or the logo on the device
Model: You can find the printer’s model number on the back, bottom, or side.
For instance, if you are using an HP inkjet printer, go to the online store, select the printer manufacturing company, model number, and look for the ink cartridge for your printer.
6. Standard or High-yield Ink Cartridges?
Most commonly, ink cartridges have a label of Standard or High-yield (XL/XXL) which depends on the page yield. That means, the approximate quantity of pages they can print before they run dry.
After finding the cartridge number, you should:
- Select a standard ink cartridge having a comparatively low page yield you do printing seldom. These perform ideal for light duties.
- On the other hand, try choosing the XL or XXL ink cartridges with higher page yields if you print often. These types of inks are most ideal for heavy-duty in offices and homes. You might even save up to 50% in CPP that means Cost Per Page.
Read Also: 10 Best Ways To Increase The Lifespan Of Your Printer
7. Decide on whether to buy Original or Compatible Ink
Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) ink cartridges are considered to be the best. Because they are properly engineered to work with a special device.
But when you look at the price of OEM ink cartridges, you will see that it is considerably higher than the regular ones.
However, the cheaper option is the compatible ink. These are made by third-party manufacturers. Using these, you can lower your CPP by 50%.
Closing
This is a complete guide on how to know what ink your printer uses. Because it contains all the necessary tips and information about it. After reading it you will be able to buy the best ink for your printer. Which might help you save your money and time as well.
